New Braunfels founder’s historic 1845 home on the market

The historic home of Johann Jakob von Coll—including the original 1845 section of the home that was built the same year the city of New Braunfels was founded—is up for sale.

The gist

The large corner lot sits across from Carl Schurz Elementary School on more than an acre of land at 624 W. Coll St. and includes several other structures, such as a rental property with three units. The inside of the home showcases historic building techniques employed by the German immigrants of the time, such as Fachwerk—a building style that incorporated exposed, diagonal log wall frames filled with bricks or “daub and wattle” stick and mud fillers—stone chimneys and metal roofs.

The property also has a cabin with a kitchenette and living quarters. In total, the original building, cabin and additions total 2,710 square feet, comprising three bedrooms and three bathrooms, not including the rental units, Phyllis Browning Co. Realtor Megan O’brien said. The home is in New Braunfels ISD and zoned for Carl Schurz Elementary, Oak Run Middle School and New Braunfels High School.

The central neighborhood is just blocks from downtown New Braunfels and one of the oldest in town.

According to Phyllis Browning Co.’s listing, the asking price for the property is $1.75 million.

The backstory

The unique home comes with more than its fair share of history, too.

According to the Sophienburg Museum and Archives in New Braunfels, von Coll was the bookkeeper of the founding Adelsverein—or immigration organization—that played a critical role in moving immigrants, supplies and infrastructure into the area.

By 1852 von Coll owned a saloon near the Main Plaza in downtown New Braunfels. That year, an altercation with a farmer inside the saloon led to von Coll being shot and killed with his own pistol, according to the Sophienburg.